I remember way back in the days the long knives were out for Barry Long and Ray McKay, and since then big guys who prefer to play the angle than the body have always had their detractors. Guys like Tom Poti, Cory Cross, even Randy Gregg for goodness sake, never seemed to satisfy the fan who yells "Hit him!" every time an opponent so much as crosses the blueline. The Tom Gilberts of the world who play the percentages (and the puck) don’t meet their baseline definition of how the game "should" be played, so they get considerably less leeway when things start going wrong.
12 months ago
Derek Zona
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There’s a small percentage of the Rangers fan base that kills Staal for the same thing. They want him to be a guy who hits everything in sight.
It’s maddening.
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It’s a small(ish) percentage of every fan base.
Hey I’m a guy who yells “Hit him!” when an opponent crosses the blueline sometimes, but like the ideal defenceman, I try to pick my spots.
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by Bruce McCurdy on May 28, 2011 11:40 AM MDT up reply actions
It should be noted that the long-lasting, best defensemen in history were typically not mashers. They were all about angles and leverage, positioning and stickwork.
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I think it is more of the people you are describing were so offensively gifted, and that is what made them great. Most of the top true defensive defensemen are physical presences similar to a Pronger or a Chara or a Weber.
by Ahmad Bradshaw on May 29, 2011 4:19 PM MDT up reply actions
But isnt Staal known for his physical play and good defensive shot blocking?
Success is not a goal..its a byproduct
Nah, that’s more Girardi’s game than Staal. Marc’s physical when he needs to be, but he’s not the “step up at the blueline” or “crease-clearing” type.
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by George E. Ays on May 28, 2011 2:56 PM MDT up reply actions
The hitting is certainly part of it. Whiel Staal may be “physical when he needs to be” I think part of the knock on Gilbert is he rarely seems to feel he needs to be. The other knock is a lack of compete at times. One of the few Oilers games I had the chance to watch on national television had (I think it was) Pierre Mcguire totally call Gilbert out on a play in the corner where basically the guy who wanted it more was going to get the puck and it was painfully obvious that Gilbert didn’t want it if he had to fight for it. Moments like those really stand out and make you wonder, when the game is on the line and it really matters, when you need him to really compete for a puck in the corners or in front of the net, does he have it in his make up to compete for it? Or is he a Dany Heatley type – good enough statistically, but lacking that something needed to be a real winner?
How long was Gilbert on the ice for, who was he with, was it PK or ES, etc?
McGuire says a lot of stupid shit and I’ve caught him a few times complaining about a lack of “compete” level when a guy has held back a bit after being on the ice for a long shift and not wanting to get caught out of position because he’s tired.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
I don’t think I’d accuse Gilbert of lack of compete. Throughout his career, the guy has surely been in more puck battles than any other Oiler. Dozens of them every night.
That’s not to say he doesn’t come out second best in some of them. He’s not Lidstrom or Pronger. But he wins his share and then some in my view.
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by Bruce McCurdy on May 30, 2011 1:59 PM MDT up reply actions
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